Girls tame the Missouri, approach 200 mile mark

A successful finish in the Missouri River 340 canoe race appears well-within reach for Hannah Grow and Marissa Weber, the first teens to take on the paddling challenge as a tandem team.

Hannah's mother, Jenny Grow, put it more emphatically Thursday morning: "They are totally going to make the 88 hours."

That's the time limit for an official finish in the 340-mile canoe race that stretches from Kansas City, Mo., to St. Charles. Based on their progress over two days, Grow, 14, and Weber, 12, expect to reach St. Charles in time for the awards ceremony at 4 p.m. on Friday.

And they may need to be there to collect some hardware. Their performance has them in contention to place in the top three among the female tandem teams.

"They are doing great," race director Scott Mansker said from his own boat on the Missouri. "They are beating a lot of paddlers. Their whole team, their ground grew and their dads are doing a good job."

Grow, from Morton, Ill., and Weber, from Shorewood, have been friends since their early childhood days, when they traveled to adventure races with their dads.

They decided to race the 340 to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity, and have been motivated by Weber's mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago.

The fathers, Brian Weber and Tom Grow, are paddling the Missouri 340 in a separate canoe, providing a measure of safety and support in the grueling race. The team camped overnight at the Franklin's Island Conservation area, fueled on bacon and eggs early in the morning, then returned to the river about 5:30 a.m.

Jenny Grow, who has been driving to the checkpoints and supplying the paddlers, had nothing but positive news to share.

"I totally think they're on an upswing now," she said.

The girls have sore backs and legs, and a few blisters after two days of paddling, but their spirits have been soaring and their competitive fires have been stoked. They have become mini celebrities in the field of more than 200 boats.

The plan for today is to push down the river to Cooper's Landing, near Columbia, by about noon, putting them near the 200 mile mark. They expect to reach Jefferson City late Thursday afternoon, and on to Herman and near 300 miles in the early morning.